Summer 2023 Wrap-Up! Full of announcements, features, changes, and news!
Hello, and welcome back to the blog. I seriously hope you never left. I’ve been sharing reviews and spotlights all summer, even though I have had the weekly Finds posts on hiatus. (More news on that later in this post.)
So, how have you been? Did you have a fabulous summer? Reach out in the comments and let me know what you’ve been up to. I’ll try to give a brief summary of my summer escapades.
~~~~~~~~~~
My nephew and niece starred in the Paris Community Theater production of ALL SHOOK UP! It was one of the few times E was able to perform with his little sister. It was amazing. I am so proud of them both! Way to Rock it, E & A!
~~~~~~~~~~
We took a well-deserved trip with friends to South Haven, Michigan. We’ve never been there “in season”. It was a bit crowded for our tastes, but we had a blast even when we were just hanging out on the hotel patio with drinks, chips and salsa. We know how to have a good time wherever we are.
No pictures for public view to protect the not-so-innocent!
~~~~~~~~~~
My grandson had another violin concert at a farmer’s market this time. We love watching all the grandkids perform, whether it’s music, plays, sports, or acting silly around the house.
~~~~~~~~~~
Next, we took our first full-family vacation to the shore of Lake Michigan, where we had a mini-family reunion. We shared a delightful place near Racine, WI. So much fun was had by everyone. A few of the highlights were exploring the rocky shore while searching for water marbles, playing football at the beach, and some wicked nightly board games.
~~~~~~~~~~
Those were some of the highlights from the summer. Lots of time was spent on mowing, gardening, and canning. I’ll share more about gardening and canning in a separate post.
Unfortunately, too much of my summer was spent dealing with insurance headaches. I reached an “ahem” major milestone birthday in August and no longer qualify for the insurance I have had since 1979! Figuring out Parts A, B, & D, along with supplemental coverage, Rx, and dental, has been mind-numbing, to say the least. If you have all that all figured out, my hat is off to you.
That’s my Summer 2023 Wrap-Up. I hope you enjoyed a peek into my life. Now let’s move on to what’s coming up soon.
~~~~~~~~~~
I’m working on some new ideas for the weekly “Finds Post.” In case you missed that subtle hint…it may not always come out on Friday for a while. I like to keep my options open and find ways to reach & connect with the most people. So, I’m doing a little testing to see what works best. Do you think I should still call it the Friday Finds or switch it to the Weekly Finds, Weekly Wrap-up, or some other clever name?
I plan to feature readers, Indie Authors, and fellow bloggers throughout the month. If you would like to be eligible for any of those features, simply reply to the newsletter, leave a comment on this post, or email me your interest. If your name is drawn, I’ll email you a list of questions for your feature. (This plan is a work in progress, so quite subject to changes and suggestions)
I also need to trim the length of the Weekly Finds. So, I hope to be able to rotate through recipes, crafts, roundups, and more. I want to be able to keep this post weekly. If it becomes a bit too much for the fall, I’ll keep you abreast of any changes. I am having some trouble with my vision, but I have an appointment with a specialist later this month. Keep your fingers crossed that I get good news.
The newsletter that many of you receive in your inbox (for those of you who are subscribed) will always have some tidbits of news, recipes, contests, coupons, and more exclusive to email subscribers. Make sure you are subscribed to both the email newsletter and the following blog by email! Links are in the sidebar!
~~~~~~~~~~
That’s a wrap on the news. Now, on to some features. This is a sample of what things could look like in the future, so be sure to let me know what you think! As compared to posts from earlier in the year.
Featured Author
I plan to rotate through independent authors I think you will enjoy. I’ll feature authors from all genres. If I’ve worked with you before, this would be a great time to ensure I have an up-to-date author image, update your bio and social media links. It seems everyone is making adjustments to their socials. I like sharing recently published books, cover reveals, special promotions, and other relevant news as part of this section.
Recipes
I enjoy sharing family favorite recipes with you almost as much as I love finding new recipes. So, if you have a great recipe to share, be sure to let me know. I try to hit everyone’s palate at some time during the month. So let me know your favorites in the categories of All Desserts All the Time, Keto, Vegan, Salads, Entrees, Instant-Pot, Air-Fryer, Make-ahead meals, Holiday faves, Quick dinners, and anything else you want to share.
Books
This section will provide you with a glimpse and links to books that have caught my eye through ads, other bloggers, new releases, Goodreads, BookSirens, NetGalley, Book Blog Tours, and author promotions.
Crafts
My crafting and creating have been a bit limited this summer due to the aforementioned eye issues. But I love sharing reader projects, patterns, kits, and ideas. Let me know some of your favorite crafts so I can include them in this feature.
Roundups
Roundups are probably going to have their own posts in the future. However, I would like to include a few blog favorites that I visit frequently and possibly my posts that rank highly with other readers…or, on the other end of that, posts that have been slightly overlooked and are worthy of more attention.
~~~~~~~~~~
This is my plan in progress. Not every feature will be in every Weekly Finds post. The newsletter and corresponding blog post may come on a random day, not necessarily on Fridays, but I do hope to share one every week. Sometimes, my weeks turn topsy-turvy, and I need to allow myself some grace to alter my schedule.
So, my friend, let me know what you think and be sure to send in lots of info to be included in future issues.
Hoping to hear from you soon.
Gina
It’s great to be back among my friends. I have missed y’all!!
Summer 2023 Wrap-Up shared on September 9, 2023
You can find me on most social media sites as Gina Rae Mitchell.
Lately, I seem to be most active on Instagram and Threads, but I’m also on Twitter (I’m not calling it X, yet!), LinkedIn, Facebook, Mastodon (rarely, although my blog posts auto-share on there), and Pinterest.
Look me up and say HEY!
It sounds like you had an eventful summer. I hope you enjoyed it all. I am lucky that my insurance is through the Retired Teacher’s Organization, so there are no changes once I retire. I do like your Friday roundups, so whatever you decide would be great. I would be interested in being a featured blogger if you go that route, Gina.
Looks like you had a good summer! I hope your vision will be ok and you got your insurance figured out.
I’ll be doing an eBook giveaway for Firefighter Fox on Sept. 20th if all goes as planned. I left a comment with the event page on your FB page.
Gina – yours is one of the very few blogs I read, so however you move ahead with your future plans sounds wonderful. I’m not much of an experimental cook and even less of a seamstress, but have successfully tried a few recipes and crafts from your Finds along the way. I’m about 2/3rds of the way through writing “Tayvie’s Story” which is a ‘side-quel’ to my historical fiction novel “Muskrat Ramble” and the third and last of that series. The last period I ever wanted to research much write about was the era surrounding WWII in Europe which is hideously oversaturated on the market imho. But since I’d painted myself into a corner with information about my protagonist from the prior novel, uh, well … c’est la vie. Would love a chance to be one of your featured authors once again at some point. Have a great weekend ~ Mim
I think it’s great to reevaluate and change things up from time to time! Keeping it fresh helps you coral the joy. While routine is good, it can also drive me nuts! I need variety and thrive on creative endeavors. I’m trying book clubs kits as an added feature to my blog….maybe one every quarter because it’s time intensive…but it’s new and energizes me. I think you need to do whatever brings you joy and energizes you! I’ll be here consuming it all!
S.S bureaucracy is the worst! Your vacation sounds so fun!